The catalyst, Hernandez said, was an invitation to a veterans’ breakfast at East Coventry Elementary School. Students invited relatives who are veterans or active-duty to join them for breakfast and recognize their service in commemoration of Veterans Day. Hernandez and more than two dozen other veterans attended.

If not for the event, Stephen likely wouldn’t have learned of his dad’s service for a long time.

“I didn’t know he would be interested,” Hernandez said. “Now, he wants to see the medals” and hear the stories.

That’s what the breakfast was all about, organizers said.

Principal Todd Oswald said some of the other schools in the Owen J. Roberts School District have veterans’ events, and East Coventry Elementary wanted to do something, too. This was their inaugural breakfast and the hope is to make it an annual event.

“This was something we needed to do to recognize the veterans in our community,” Oswald said. He explained that teacher Kelly Loomis was a lead organizer of the event, and the entire school community worked to make it happen.

Kindergartner Kelly McErlean, 5, brought her grandpop, Tony McErlean, to school with her for the breakfast. McErlean served in the Air Force, and said he talks frequently with his grandchildren about the importance of serving the country and respecting veterans.

“On Flag Day, we have our flags out and (the grandchildren) come over,” he said. The breakfast provided an additional opportunity to talk to his granddaughter about his service.

“I think it’s great. It’s a wonderful experience for the kids,” he said.

Ralph Nealman, a Marine and the president of the Vietnam Veterans of Valley Forge Chapter, joined his grandsons, Matthew Gogan, 10, and Andrew Gogan, 8.

He noted opportunities to speak to children about the country’s history, and the fact that “freedom isn’t free,” are valuable.

“The younger generation has to know about the veterans,” he said. “When you have the opportunity to go to school with your children or grandchildren, you should go.”

For Lt. Col. Eric Turnbull, the breakfast marked the second occasion in which he was honored at East Coventry Elementary School. When Turnbull, an airman and the commander of the Air Force ROTC Detachment 750 at St. Joseph’s University, returned from a deployment to Iraq in the spring of 2010, he paid a visit to the school where his daughter, Faith, was a kindergartner. He was welcomed home with a small celebration there.

Turnbull said the opportunities for veterans to come to school and engage the students is tremendous for everyone involved.

“It’s just fantastic that as Veterans Day approached, the school had something like this,” he said. The children get to know about their relative’s service, which provides something tangible to go along with what they learn in history class.

Also, such events provide an opportunity to recognize those veterans who served in Vietnam and Korea and other wars and perhaps didn’t get the welcome home they deserved, he said.

“It’s long overdue, so the fact that they can be honored 30 or 40 years late” is better than never getting the thanks.